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Friday, December 31, 2010

Picasso said, "Good artists copy; great artists steal". Thank you, Bo, of Bo's Bowl, for the inspiration for this post!

I started blogging in 2010, and have had a wonderful year of meeting new friends! To kick off 2011, I have compiled a list of my top 10 favorite recipes. It was really hard to pare it down to just ten!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until frothy. Add sugar and butter. Mix well. Fold in walnuts. Mix until well coated. Spread walnuts in single layer, on a baking sheet. Bake 25 minutes, stirring twice while cooking. This recipe freezes well.

ThePOM Wonderful people sent me a box of their delicious Pomegranate Juice. I wanted to drink all of the yummy pomegranate juice, but I showed some restraint, and left a few bottles alone so I could experiment and create new recipes.

A recipe doesn't have to be complicated, or have a long list of ingredients to be delicious, sometimes simple is best.

This salad dressing recipe is my new favorite! It was not only quick and easy to make, but the blend of flavors were perfect. It was tangy without being tart and not overly sweet. I made a simple salad out of Romaine Hearts, feta cheese, pomegranate arils, and my Candied Walnuts. Drizzle the POM Wonderful Salad Dressing over top and you have a salad that your family and friends will rave about!

My taste testers gave it two thumbs up, and said they wouldn't change a thing, that is big coming from them, they take their job seriously. All of the taste testers said they planned to make this salad, and several of them plan to serve it at their Christmas dinner, which is exactly what I plan to do.

I pray you and your family have a very

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

Every month I have a drawing giving away a copy of my cookbook,

My Kind of Cooking Cookbook, and other goodies.

The next drawing is, Friday, January 7th.

Sign up to follow my blog, for your chance to win this apron,
kitchen towel, and a copy of my cookbook,

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. In large bowl, combine all ingredients. If too dry, add more applesauce, and if it is too wet, add more cinnamon. Knead dough 3 minutes to form a ball. Between two sheets of wax paper, roll dough out to 1/4 inch thickness, do not roll too thin. Using cookie cutters, cut dough into shapes. Make a hole using a toothpick, at the top of the cookie, so you can hang the ornament. Place on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 2 hours, turning every 30 minutes. If you don't want to bake the ornaments you can let them air dry for a couple of days. Decorate with craft puff paint, or other craft items.

This is a great craft for kids and adults to do on Christmas day. I always make the cookies at least a day or two before I need them.

The first time I did this craft, I only make enough cookies for the kids to decorate. I was surprised at how many adults wanted to decorate one too, so now I make extras, and everyone who wants to decorate one can.

Our son Tyler, made the green man and the American flag man
ornaments when he was in Jr. High.

Friday, December 17, 2010

In small skillet, brown pecans over medium heat. Set aside. In large saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil over medium high heat. Add rice and seasoning packet. Bring to a boil. Add raisins and cherries. Cover. Reduce heat to low. Cook 25 minutes or until water is absorbed. Add pecans. Mix well. Makes 4 servings.

Recipe can be found on page 133 in,

MY KIND OF COOKING COOKBOOK.

I love this side dish! I could honestly eat the whole thing myself. The savory taste of the wild rice, pared with the sweet raisins and cherries, throw in the crunch of the toasted pecans, and you have a winning combination!

This is one of the dishes that will be on our Christmas table. It is quick and easy and full of flavor, and I am so far behind in everything I need to get done before Christmas, that is just what I need.

Are you behind like me, or have you made it to the place I treasure most, remembering the reason for the season? I still have 38 Christmas baskets to get ready and a few cards left to be mailed. Even though I am behind, this is still my favorite time of the year!

Visit my friends blogs!

You will love Bo and his blog, Bo's Bowl. Not only does he host great giveaways, his recipes are incredible! One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Giving a batch of cookies you baked or some other baked good, is a perfect way to show someone you love them at Christmas.

Below are a few of the baking tips I use when I am putting together my Christmas baskets.

Sugar Cookies Tip:

To make it easier to roll out sugar cookie dough, place it between two sheets of waxed paper before you roll out the dough. This will keep the dough from sticking to your rolling pin.

Roll out small batches of the dough and keep the remaining dough in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

Bar Cookies:

I like to line the baking pan that I use to make bar cookies in, with aluminum foil. I cut a piece if foil several inches wider and longer than the pan, so I can easily lift the bar cookies out of it. To form the foil to fit the pan, I turn the pan upside down, then mold the foil around it.

Flip the pan back over, and place the foil inside, pressing it into place. Fold the excess foil around the outside of the pan. You can grease the foil if the recipe calls for it, then bake as directed. I have several pieces of foil formed ahead of time, so I can pull the baked bar cookies out of the pan, and place on a wire rack to cool. I then place a new preformed foil liner back into the pan; then I can immediately reuse the pan without waiting for the cookies to cool first.

On Friday, I will be posting one of my favorite side dishes,Wacky Wild Rice.

For your chance to WIN three boxes of Tate's Bake Shop Cookies and their Cookbook, check out my post about theTate's Bake Shop Giveaway.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two cookie sheets or line them with Silpat.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
In another large bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Add the water and vanilla. Mix the ingredients until they are just combined. Add the eggs and mix them lightly. Stir in the flour mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips. Don't over mix the dough.
Drop the cookies 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets using two tablespoons or an ice cream scoop.
Bake them for 12 minutes or until the edges and centers are brown. Remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool. Yield: 4 1/2 dozen three-inch cookies.

Chocolate chip cookies are Tate's Bake Shop signature item. They are thin and crisp and remain everyone's favorite. They sell thousands a week and ship them all over the country.

This recipe came out of the, Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook by Kathleen King, the owner of the bakery. I compared the batch of cookies I made using her recipe to the cookies they sent me in the mail. The flavor and texture is exactly the same! Using this cookbook allows you to make bakery quality cookies, cakes, pies, muffins, and breads at home.

To order cookies or Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook:

Go to their website: TATE'S BAKE SHOP and enter the discount code:"cookies"to receive 15% off of your order, now through December 31st.

For your chance to WIN three boxes of Tate's Bake Shop Cookies and their Cookbook, check out my post about the Tate's Bake Shop Giveaway.

Below are a few tips from Kathleen to help you achieve bakery quality cookies.

Flour makes a big difference to the outcome of your product. Kathleen suggests you use Gold Medal all-purpose flour.

Use a 2-tablespoon ice cream scoop. This will ensure the correct yield and bake time, and give you more uniform, professional-looking cookies.

Always preheat the oven and wait for it to reach the correct temperature. Don't rush this part.

Use a Silpat baking mats. They make cleanup much easier, and there is no added butter to the product. Silicon paper works just as well.

Most of all, have fun! Don't take it seriously. If you screw up, don't worry about it-they're only cookies!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Are you finished with your Christmas shopping like my sister Shelley is? I have barely started the process and was having trouble figuring out what to buy the people on my list who already have everything. Thanks to being contacted byTATE'S BAKE SHOP, and after trying their delicious cookies, that task has just become easier for me.

They sent me a box with three different types of their wonderful cookies and their fantastic cookbook. Included was their famous thin, crisp, chocolate chip cookies. Loaded with chocolate chips! Their buttery flavor is addictive. There were also delicious chewy oatmeal cookies, that had the perfect blend of raisins and cinnamon. My husband's favorite cookie was the white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookie. They have a sweet nutty flavor that will keep you coming back for more. The cookbook has 125 of their very best recipes from the Southampton's favorite bakeshop. These are incredible cookies, cakes, pies, muffins, and bread recipes. It's a cookbook you can't put down. You will have a hard time trying to decide which tasty recipe to make first.

Not only did they send me the box of goodies, but they are awarding one of my readers with the same delicious cookies and the fantastic cookbook, too!

The rules for the Giveaway are simple:

Leave me a comment telling me that you follow my blog, through Google Friend Connect (there is a box on my sidebar that says, Followers) and tell me if you are finished with your Christmas shopping or not.

For an extra entry, become a fan of Tate's Bake Shop Facebook Fan page, and leave me a separate comment telling me you have done that.

The Giveaway is open to US residents only.

You have until midnight, MST, on December 16th, to enter the Giveaway. The winner will be picked by random.org and announced on December 17th.

If you would like to order some cookies for the people on your Christmas list, or if you would just like to try some of the best cookies in the world, Tate's has a special deal for you!

Go to their website: TATE'S BAKE SHOPand enter the discount code: "cookies" to receive 15% off of your order, now through December 31st.

The cookies come packed in beautiful boxes, that make it a gift you are proud to give.

Check back on Friday, I will be posting the Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, that Ina Garten suggests you start with, out of the Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook.

When you enter the Tate's Bake Shop Giveaway, you are automatically entered into my monthly giveaway.

Friday, December 3, 2010

In medium bowl, combine Egg Nog and eggs. Mix well. In large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter, over medium heat. Dip two slices of bread in egg mixture, place in skillet. Brown bread on both sides. Repeat three more times. Serve with maple syrup. Makes 4 servings.

Tips for making French Toast trees: I like to cut the bread into triangles before I dip them in the egg mixture and cook them. It makes it easier to arrange into a tree if the hot bread is cut before you have to handle it to form a tree. The trunk of the tree is two breakfast sausage links.

My husband Stan and I have one son. I knew I would only get to do somethings once, and that made me go overboard when it came to my family. When Tyler had to take a sack lunch to school, I would draw dog footprints all over the bag. When it was Valentine's Day, I couldn't just send a box covered with red paper like all the other kids had. I made a space shuttle Valentine's Day box. And don't get me started on the paint shirt I made. I am lucky my poor kid turned out normal.

I like tradition and making memories with my family. The Egg Nog French Toast recipe, is one my family enjoys on Christmas day. The spice in the Egg Nog, gives the French toast a nice subtle holiday spice flavor. I precook the sausage the night before, then try to get up early enough on Christmas day, to have the French Toast cooked up and place in the oven, at a low temperature to keep warm. By preparing the breakfast that way, I can spend time with my family instead of in the kitchen cooking, while everyone else is having fun with their gifts.

Sign up to follow my blog, for your chance to win this apron,
kitchen towel, and a copy of my cookbook,

MY KIND OF COOKING

Leave a comment and get a second entry.

For January's drawing, I will be giving away a copy of my cookbook, MY KIND OF COOKING. This cookbook has over 500 yummy recipes using only 3, 4, or 5 ingredients. It has everything from appetizers to desserts and everything in between. It also includes slow-cooker recipes! The winner will also receive an apron and a kitchen towel.

I will be drawing a name from my followers, on Friday, January 7th. The giveaway is open to all of my followers, regardless of where they live. If your name is drawn and you have a blog, I will mention your blog address on my"Fast Food Fridays" radio show on the The Passion Radio Network, and post your blog address on my blog.

Sign up as a FOLLOWER for your chance to win!

Visit my friends blogs!

You will love Bo and his blog, Bo's Bowl. Not only does he host great giveaways, his recipes are incredible! One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.